Ketogenic Diet: Beginner's Guide to Keto and Weight Loss

Understanding the Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet is a low carb, moderate protein, and high fat diet which puts the body into a metabolic state known as ketosis.

When you're body is in a state of ketosis, the liver produced ketones which become the main energy source for the body.

The ketogenic diet is also referred to as keto (key-toe) diet, low carb diet, and low carb high fat (LCHF).

So why is it so awesome and why is it taking the world by storm?

Because it completely reverses how your body functions (in a good way) along with changing how you view nutrition.

It's based around the premise that your body was designed to run more efficiently as a fat burner than a sugar burner.

Fat Burner vs Sugar Burner

When you eat something that is high in carbs (that yummy donut), your body will produce glucose and insulin.

Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy so that is why it's the preferred energy source for your body.

Insulin is produced to process the glucose in your bloodstream by transporting it around your body.

This sounds pretty efficient, right? The problem with this is that when glucose is used as a primary energy source, fats are not needed for energy and therefore are stored.

With the average person's diet, glucose is the main energy source.

This initially doesn't seem like a problem until you realize that the body can't store that much glucose. This becomes an issue for you because the extra glucose gets converted into fat which is then stored.

Because your body uses glucose as it's main energy source the glucose that is converted into fat doesn't get used.

When your body runs out of glucose it tells your brain you need more so you end up reaching for a quick snack like a candy bar or some chips.

You can begin to see how this cycle leads to building up a body that you don't really want.

So what's the alternative?

Become a fat burner instead of a sugar burner.

When you lower your intake of carbs, the body begins to look for an alternative energy source and your body enters a metabolic state known as ketosis.

Ketosis is a natural process and makes perfect sense when you think about the human body.

You've probably heard of the fact that you can go weeks without food but only a couple of days without water.

The reason for this is ketosis. Most people, for better or for worse, have enough fat stored on them to fuel their body for a while.

When your body is in a state of ketosis, it produces ketones. Ketones occur from the breakdown of fat in the liver.

You might be thinking why isn't the body constantly breakdown fats in the liver? Well, when your body is producing insulin, the insulin prevents the fat cells from entering the bloodstream so they stay stored in the body.

When you lower your carb intake, glucose levels, along with blood sugar levels, drop which in turn lowers insulin levels.

This allows the fat cells to release the water they are storing (it's why you first see a drop in water weight) and then the fat cells are able to enter the bloodstream and head to the liver.

This is the end goal of the keto diet. You don't enter ketosis by starving your body. You enter ketosis by starving your body of carbohydrates.

Increase in Energy

Because your body can only store so much glucose, when it runs out it means your body has run out of fuel (energy) and it needs more.

Carbs also cause spikes in blood sugar levels and when those levels drop you experience a crash.

Keto helps to provide your body with a more reliable energy source allowing you to feel more energized throughout the day.

Better Appetite Control

When eating a diet that is heavy in carbs you can often find yourself hungry a lot sooner than you expected after eating a meal.

Because fats are more naturally satisfying they end up leaving our bodies in a satiated state for much longer.

That means no more random cravings along with feeling like you're going to collapse if you don't get something in you immediately.

Epilepsy

Keto has been used to treat epilepsy since the early 1900s. It's still one of the most widely used treatments for children suffering from uncontrolled epilepsy today.

A big benefit of the ketogenic diet for people that suffer from epilepsy is that it allows them to take fewer medications which is always a good thing.

Cholesterol & Blood Pressure

The ketogenic diet has been shown to improve triglyceride levels and cholesterol levels.

The benefit?

Less toxic buildup in the arteries allowing blood to flow throughout your body as it should.

Low carb, high fat diets show a dramatic increase in HDL (good cholesterol) and a decrease in LDL (bad cholesterol).

Studies have shown that low-carb diets show better improvement in blood pressure over other diets.

Because some blood pressure issues are associated with excess weight, the keto diet is an obvious warrior against these issues due to its natural weight loss.

Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is the reason why people suffer from Type II diabetes. The ketogenic diet helps people lower their insulin levels to healthy ranges so that they are no longer in the group of people that are on the cusp of acquiring diabetes.

Acne

One of the more common improvements that people on the keto diet experience is better skin.

What Do I Eat on a Keto Diet?

Unfortunately, on the ketogenic diet you can't eat whatever you want. However, unlike many other diets, once you find yourself in ketosis your cravings for the things you can't eat usually disappear and if they don't?

Well, there are plenty of alternatives for the things you are used to eating.

Remember, that the goal of the ketogenic diet is to get your body into a state of ketosis and to do that you need to reduce your carb intake.

It's important to understand that carbohydrates are not only in the junk foods that you love, but also some of the healthier foods that you enoy.

How to Reach Ketosis

While you don't need to reach ketosis as quickly as possible, many people consider ketosis as their first successful milestone on the keto journey.

The following steps will help you great in achieving that:

Restrict your carbohydrates: Because you can't reach ketosis when your body still has a supply of glucose to burn you need to restrict your net carb intake to 20g or less than a day.

Restrict your protein: Protein is a sneaky one in this diet because if you eat too much it ends up being converted into glucose which will keep you out of ketosis.

Stop worrying about fat: To lose fat on keto you need to consume healthy fats so you have to get rid of the mental block you have regarding it. You don't lose weight on keto by feeling hungry all of the time.

Drink water: Water is a huge deal on keto. You need to consume a lot of it. You need to stay hydrated and be consistent with the amount of water you drink. To make it easier, consider drinking water with fresh lemon in it or grab some MiO with Electrolytes.

Careful with snacking: One thing you have to keep in mind is that even while eating keto you can suffer from small insulin spikes. Less snacking means less of those giving you a better chance of losing weight.

Consider fasting: Fasting in this case means intermittent fasting. Instead of eating throughout the day, you block off an 8-hour window and in that window you eat all of your meals.

Add exercise: A simple 20-30 minute walk everyday can help regulate weight loss and your blood sugar levels. An increased workout routine usually means an adjustment in macros so just because keto gives you more energy don't assume that things can stay the same when you run a marathon.

Look at supplements: Supplements can help you reach ketosis quicker but they aren't necessary.

Always check food labels to see the ingredients being added. If sugar is at the top of the list then runaway.

How to Know if You're in Ketosis

There are a couple of different ways to see if you're in ketosis.

One common way is by using ketone test strips but these aren't meant to determine if you're body is in ketosis. They just let you know the level of ketones that your body is getting rid of.

Another method is by using a blood glucose monitor. The issue with this is that the blood strips can be expensive over time and once you're in ketosis you start to understand your body a bit more so you won't keep running back to the monitor.

You can also check for ketosis by keeping an eye on these symptoms:

Increased Urination: Keto is a natural diuretic, so you'll find yourself going to the bathroom more than usual. Especially with how much water you are consuming. Acetoacetate (say that 3x fast), a ketone body, is excreted through the urine so this is another cause for more frequent bathroom breaks.

Dry Mouth: The more fluids your body is releasing, the more you may experience dry mouth. This is your body telling you that you need more electrolytes. This is why we add MiO with Electrolytes to our water. Also keeping salty things around helps like pickles.

Bad Breath: Acetone is a ketone that is partially excreted through your breath. It doesn't have the most pleasant smell but thankfully it disappears in the long run.

Reduced Hunger and Increased Energy: This is the most telltale sign of ketosis. You find that you don't get hungry as often and you can go much longer without food because you have more energy.

The last thing you want to do is drive yourself crazy measuring and testing your ketone levels. Once you get a handle on things, you'll learn to see the signs that your body is giving you.

Types of Ketogenic Diets

A common question, especially from people that workout, is whether or not you can build muscle while on keto and the answer is yes.

Many workout programs have you consuming a large number of carbs to fuel your workouts. While on keto you don't need to bulk up on the carbs but you can fill up your glycogen stores so that you have glucose ready for a workout.

If you wish to add mass to your body while on keto it is suggested that you consume 1.0 - 1.2g of protein per lean pound of body mass.

This is also why there are different types of keto diets because some people have different needs.

Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD): This is the classic keto diet that everyone knows and most people stick with as they are aiming for weight loss.

Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD): This is a small variation where you follow SKD but intake a small amount of fast-digesting carbs before your workout.

Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD): This is the more complication variation that is usually used by bodybuilders. In this variation you give yourself one day a week to carb up to resupply glycogen stores.

Which one is for you? If you work out pretty hard then you might want to do TKD or CKD.

Exercise on Keto

The concern of people that exercise is that keto will affect their physical performance and while this isn't true in the long run, in the short term you might experience a small drop.

Your body needs a small amount of time to adjust.

The good news is that studies (on trained cyclists) have shown that the ones on the ketogenic diet didn't find a compromise in their aerobic endurance or a loss of muscle mass.

Dangers of a Keto Diet

Are there dangers to the ketogenic diet?

If your body is producing too many ketones then it enters ketoacidosis.

This is highly unlikely to occur in normal circumstances because for most people it's a challenge to get into optimal ranges for ketosis so getting into the range where you need medical intervention isn't likely.

What Happens to My Body?

Because you're completely rewiring how your body works, your body isn't going to be ready right away to handle the breakdown of fats for energy.

While switching over to keto you'll have a transition period where your body uses up all of its glycogen stores and doesn't have enough enzymes to breakdown fat to produce ketones.

This means your body doesn't have an immediate fuel source which causes a lack of energy and general lethargy.

In the first week of keto, many people will report headaches, mental fogginess, dizziness, and aggravation. Sounds terrible, right?

This is caused by the loss of electrolytes so it's important that you continue to replace them throughout the day. Keeping your sodium (don't hesitate to salt things up) intake up throughout the day can prevent all of these side effects.

Sodium helps with water retention in the body along with replenishing the much needed electrolytes.

The groggy feeling and fatigue actually has a term and it's keto flu.

Keto Flu

Keto flu is a very common experience that some people go through when transitioning over to keto. It usually goes away in just a few days but if you don't take active measures to find against it, it can stay around for much longer.

When transitioning to keto, you may feel some slight discomfort along with fatigue, headaches, nausea and cramps. It doesn't sound fun but it's important to understand why it is happening.

Keto is a diuretic. Everytime you urinate you're losing electrolytes and water. To combat this you can make a nice drink from a bouillion cube (makes a great broth) or by using MiO with Electrolytes and increasing your water intake. The goal is to replace the electrolytes that you're using.

You're transitioning. All of the years of carb intake has trained your body to convert carbs into glycogen so when you transition over to keto, your body needs time to make the proper adjustments. You can't simply make your car go electric by adding another battery.

For most people, eating less than 20g of net carbs a day will get them on track for ketosis within a matter of days. To ensure the process is sped up some you should aim for less than 15g of net carbs daily.

Continue to monitor your electrolyte intake along with how much water you are drinking.

Common Side Effects on a Keto Diet

As with any drastic change you make to your body's chemistry there are going to be side effects. Of course, if you think about it, your current way of eating has side effects as well.

On keto there are known ways to combat each of these side effects so you're in good hands.

Cramps

Do to keto being a diuretic, when your body is losing out on fluids it can cause cramps.

To prevent these you do the same thing that you're already doing to prevent keto flu and that is upping your water and sodium intake. If you find that cramps still persist then you might look into taking a magnesium supplement.

Constipation

Because the most common cause of constipation is dehydration, you can help prevent it by increasing the amount of water you drink everyday.

You also want to ensure that the vegetables you eat contain quality fiber.

If you find that these aren't enough then you can add psyllium husk powder to your drinks and meals.

Heart Palpitations

This sounds scarier than it really is. Your heart may begin to beat faster and harder when transitioning over to keto, it's pretty standard.

If you the problem persists over a long period of time then you need to make sure you're drinking enough water and eating enough salt.

Reduced Physical Performance

Since your body hasn't fully transitioned to burning fat yet, it loses out on its energy source pretty quickly if you are exercising hard.

As your body shifts to using fat for energy, you'll find that all of your strength and endurance will return to normal.

Saving Money and Budgeting on Keto

Some people believe that eating keto is more expensive but this isn't true. Initially, you might find yourself needing to restock the pantry with keto-friendly items but beyond that, eating keto isn't more expensive than eating normally.

You'll find that you can buy meat in bulk and you can store the unused portion in the freezer.

Because you're on keto, you'll find that you are cooking more for yourself instead of going out. This shows significant savings along with helping you build your budget.

Cooking on Keto also doesn't have to be time-consuming. Love your instant pot? Then here are instant pot keto recipes just for you.

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Ready to Lose 10-21 lbs in the Next 28 Days?

If you're really serious about losing weight and want to create a new lifestyle for yourself then the 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge is for you.

The Ketogenic Diet has changed our lives. It has turned our bodies from sugar-burners to fat-burners.

We wake up with more energy, less cravings, and a better mood throughout the day.

Our 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge walks you through how to incorporate the Ketogenic Diet into your lifestyle so you no longer have to worry about giving up on diets and gaining back the weight you keep on trying to lose.